AIR India's restarting of direct flights between New Delhi and Moscow last month are expected to boost the Russian inbound market, even as the airline is understood to be considering flights to other Russian destinations.

The national carrier started flying four times a week to Moscow on Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft on the heels of a meeting between prime minister Narendra Modi and Russian president Vladimir Putin at the BRICS Summit in Brazil. The service was initially scheduled for commencement in March.

Rohit Nandan, chairman and managing director of Air India, commented: “Presently, around 10,000 people travel between the two countries every month, and there are over 1,000 Indian students in Russia who will benefit from this service.”

Besides Air India, Aeroflot is the only airline connecting New Delhi and Moscow, a route which Air India had previously codeshared on.